| Policy Approval Authority | President |
| Responsible Division | International Affairs |
| Responsible Officer(s) | Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs |
| Primary Audience |
Faculty
Staff Student Administration |
| Status | Comments-Only |
| Last Review Date | 08-31-2026 |
| Policy Category/Categories |
Governance, Legal and Institutional
|
This policy requires individuals to register their university-related international travel.
Northern Illinois University (NIU) encourages international travel to support global engagement in academic exploration, study, and degree programs; for institutional collaborations and cross-cultural exchange; in pursuit of research, scholarship and artistry; and for other activities.
Through this policy, NIU aims to mitigate potential risks to faculty, staff, students, and volunteers who engage in such university-related international travel. The University also seeks to strengthen individual and institutional compliance with relevant regulations and laws.
University-related travel includes traveling for purposes or activities related to the University and/or traveling with NIU property.
NIU property includes any devices or items purchased with NIU funds, including those purchased with departmental, grant, contract, gift, or donor funds. NIU property also includes university owned digital and intellectual property. Examples of NIU property include information (data, technology, schematics, etc.), equipment (including NIU laptops, software, cell phones, etc.), and services (including conference presentations).
The International Travel Safety Advisory Board (ITSAB) is constituted to implement this policy. The board is comprised of members of relevant university functional areas such as international affairs, study abroad, general counsel, risk management, and research compliance.
In this policy, a country or sub-division of a country will be designated a higher safety/health risk travel advisory area, if any of the following apply:
For purposes of this policy, export control means one or both of the following:
All faculty, staff, students, and volunteers planning university-related international travel must register their travel in accordance with the Procedures for Registering International Travel. Registering travel is separate and distinct from securing budgetary authorization for reimbursement of travel costs. All international travelers subject to this policy should initiate the travel registration process at least 30 days in advance of travel. Ticket purchases and other nonrefundable expenses related to the proposed travel should not be completed prior to registration.
Additional time may be needed for responding to suggestions and questions from the International Travel Safety Advisory Board when traveling to higher health/safety risk areas. Registration at least six weeks in advance of travel is recommended. Additional time should be allowed if travel is during a period when the university is closed, such as winter break. If the travel is to a Higher Health/Safety Risk Area, review and approval of registration by ITSAB should be complete before ticket purchases and other nonrefundable expenses.
Certain specialized technology and intellectual property that travelers plan to take abroad may require that the traveler obtain a license to do so. Travel to countries or areas subject to sanctions or embargoes may also require a license. Obtaining a license can take considerable time, sometimes more than 6 months. Travelers are encouraged to register as soon as they are considering travel to allow for possible licensing needs.
Travelers to Higher Safety/Health Risk Travel Advisory Areas must submit supplemental information that characterizes travel risks, justifies the travel necessity to their work or study, acknowledges additional risks of travel, and documents plans for mitigating risks.
The International Travel Safety Advisory Board will make a recommendation to approve or deny the request to travel to such locations to the Executive Vice President and Provost, or their designee, who has the final authority for deciding if the travel will be permitted.
For students, supplemental approval of travel to Higher Safety/Health Risk Travel Advisory Areas must be obtained from the chair/director of the student traveler’s major department(s).
NIU will not require NIU faculty, staff, student or volunteer to travel to a Higher Safety/Health Risk Travel Advisory Area.
Faculty, staff, and students participating in NIU-approved Study Abroad credit-bearing programs are not required to register their travel directly, because the Study Abroad Office oversees for their program travel risk mitigation and gathering lists of NIU property (physical, such as laptops and software, or intellectual, such as manuscripts) being taken abroad for potential export control review.
Although personal (i.e., not university-related) travel is generally not covered by this policy, any individual who plans to take NIU property during otherwise personal international travel must register. In these situations, the review will primarily focus on export control concerns and safeguarding the NIU property.
Personal health insurance policies and insurance provided through NIU to University employees generally provide medical, safety, evacuation, and repatriation benefits that extends to international travel. Questions about coverage and benefits should be directed to the individual’s insurance carrier or the NIU Office of Risk Management.
All NIU students traveling internationally are required to purchase NIU’s supplemental health and safety travel insurance, as are all NIU faculty, staff, students, volunteers, and groups traveling to Higher Safety/Health Risk Travel Advisory Areas. When registering their travel under this policy, travelers will be told of the steps necessary to secure this supplemental health and safety travel insurance. Travelers are responsible for canceling the supplemental insurance prior to their departure date if their trip is cancelled.
The University reserves the right to modify, suspend, or cancel any travel on behalf of the University or its business or interests, prior to departure or in progress, if changed facts or circumstances lead the University to conclude that participation (or continued participation) in the program or travel may jeopardize the health, safety or well-being of the traveler(s), not align with the business or interests of the University or would be inconsistent with applicable U.S. government sanctions, laws or travel advisories.
In such cases when faculty, staff and students are subject to this policy, the International Travel Safety Advisory Board, Executive Vice President and Provost, and other relevant individuals, shall develop in consultation with the faculty, staff, and student traveler(s) a mitigation strategy that preserves the interests of the University, while also considering the interests of those individuals involved.
Failure to comply with this policy may jeopardize:
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Comments
I think the first sentence could be hard to understand. The first part of the sentence defines international as "outside" US, etc., but then it requires very careful reading to know if the latter part of the sentence, "including..." is considered inside the "outside" our outside the "outside." I think the comma technically addresses it, such that US territories are considered international, but I can imagine a lot of questions.
- Amanda DurikFollowing up on Amanda Durik’s comment, the policy does not clarify whether “travel through international waters” includes flying over them.
The definition begins with destinations, then introduces a travel route without explaining the distinction. Does this provision apply only to travel by water, or does it include flights over international waters?
If flights count, the policy needs to clarify how this applies to Alaska and Hawaii. Both fall within the 50 states excluded by the destination definition, yet flights to either may cross international waters. Would those flights require supplemental travel insurance?
- Rave MeyerThis policy is extremely burdensome for someone with a lot of international travel. I would suggest a single approval per country valid for 5-10 years, rather than individual approval for each trip. Better yet, limit the policy only to high-risk areas, or at the very least, create a list of exempt destinations.
- Ilya KrishtalI am in full agreement with Ilya Krishtal's comment. This policy will place a greater burden than is warranted upon individuals who travel abroad frequently, especially to low risk countries.
I like his idea of a blanket permission for low risk locations. You could include a disclaimer that such blanket permission will be revoked in the event it's deemed necessary. In addition, it is not practical to tell faculty not to purchase tickets or make travel arrangements before initiating travel approval. Often to maximize extremely limited research and conference funds, faculty, for instance, purchase tickets and make travel arrangements based on the timing that minimizes cost/maximizes research productivity within the allowed budget. In other words, they need to make travel arrangements first in order to know what to enter when they register their travel. That hardly seems problematic for low risk locations and would let faculty make the most of limited NIU funding.
I would argue minimally that this policy needs to be much more flexible for travel to low-risk areas if a blanket approval for a number of years is not possible.
- Valerie GarverWhile well intentioned the problem is that it burdens everyone who is not traveling with sensitive regulated equipment, or going to a level four area With the same owners requirements that these were put in place for. I think this policy is great, but it should only be applied to people who are going to risky areas or carrying sensitive technology. Otherwise we don’t need another bureaucratic hurdle, keeping our faculty and the canvas community from engaging in Intl travel more than the many structural barriers we already have in place.
- Eric JonesThe entire section entitled "Action Required at Least 30 Days in Advance of International Travel" is very problematic.
Many professors receive invitations to academic workshops, seminars, and meetings that are arranged or modified within a one-month window. Other professors receive small grants or other external funding that provide for last-minute research funding, especially for summer research trips. Professors often fund their research trips entirely with their own money and non-NIU funds. Professors need maximum flexibility for summer research travel arrangements. Further, professors have nine-month contracts and should be free to pursue their research without bureaucratic constraints during summer months.
Other academic conferences are arranged months in advance and require travel arrangements to be made quickly to keep costs down. Seeking pre-approval of making airline reservations will potentially push up costs of airfare. Reservations should be made as soon as possible, not subjected to bureaucratic delays.
The language currently states: "All faculty, staff, students, and volunteers planning university-related international travel must register their travel in accordance with the Procedures for Registering International Travel. Registering travel is separate and distinct from securing budgetary authorization for reimbursement of travel costs. All international travelers subject to this policy should initiate the travel registration process at least 30 days in advance of travel. Ticket purchases and other nonrefundable expenses related to the proposed travel should not be completed prior to registration."
The Faculty Senate, Colleges, and Departments should be consulted on this problematic policy.
- Brian SandbergOverall this clarifies many aspects of intl travel. Some edits might improve clarity.
- In this policy, international travel refers to travel to destinations outside the fifty states of the U.S. and the District of Columbia, including the U.S. territories and travel through international waters which are considered international travel for enrollment in supplemental travel insurance.
- Does this mean travel to US territories is international travel?
- If so: perhaps an edit: Travel through international waters to U.S. territories is considered international travel for enrollment in supplemental travel insurance.
- Export Controls is vague. Some clarifications would help. If I take my NIU laptop to Kenya or Tanzania or Thailand or Indonesia, and I don't have any natural sciences, engineering, CompSci, etc. on it, is it subject to export controls? What are the aspects of a laptop requiring registration or review?
- I support the suggestion to get an approval for a country valid for 3 years unless the State Dept travel advisory code is raised. For those countries with 3/4 listed for certain areas, the approval would include specific area restrictions.
- I agree with all the comments about the 30 days unless it is to an area of a country with a level 3/4 rating.
- Kurt ThurmaierI agree with the other commenters who have concerns with the 30 day notice, particularly for individual faculty. While most conferences are planned well in advance, there are invites, collaborations, etc that may be less than 30 days, particularly in neighboring countries such as Canada, Mexico, etc. Also, depending on funding mechanisms, final approvals for trips planned well in advance might not come until closer to the date of travel. I also agree that faculty need the flexibility to purchase/reserve transportation, accommodations, etc. prior to approval. Especially now, airfare is all over the place, and securing the lowest cost options requires flexibility. Relatedly, the travel review by the advisory board should have to be completed within a specified time period.
Prior review to non-problematic areas has been all over the place in terms of time. If faculty are to be held to certain deadlines, the review board should be held to deadlines for approval. I do think that creating exempt criteria may be helpful to reduce the burden to faculty and to the review board. In terms of faculty research travel, I also think their expertise should be deferred to regarding visiting a particular country or region. Most of us who regularly travel internationally and to particular locations probably have a better understanding of our risks, safety, etc, than the board or even the current federal administration.
- Andrea L. Guzman